Tagged 'design'

I've been in lots of meetings, particularly regarding digital user interface designs, when the term "accessibility" is tossed around. We know, for the most part, how we *should* make things "accessible" for the greater population, but we don't always know how.
It's easy, when we look at the world through our very own lens, to think our way will work for all. But there are so many ways to make things better for those who otherwise may not be able to access the information and tools available.
Whose lens are you looking through?
Customer experience is, overall, an exercise in challenging the lens you have. Playing the role of the sales director or the ecommerce lead or even the head of human resources means we use that lens to view the world. Our role in business is to accomplish something - higher conversions, better engagement, increased revenue, lower turnover, etc.
Our customer approaches their experience with us in a totally different way. The customer wants to accomplish something, too, but often it has nothing to do with the goals the leaders of an organization have. Our customer needs guidance. Our customer seeks better understanding of how to use the tools we sold them. Our customer... Read more

You’ve heard of death by PowerPoint, right? That feeling when the presenter, whether in a conference or company meeting, is reading poorly worded phrases off generic bulleted lists... It's enough to kill any enthusiasm in the room.
Doesn’t it annoy you when the people behind those conveyors of information don’t ask the appropriate questions before launching into the design process?
Unfortunately, this type of design failure is not limited to PowerPoints. Any experience you provide- for customers, attendees, or employees- can be dead by design.
Death by design can easily creep its way into your work.
Whether you’re delivering information in the form of:

You could be killing the customer’s interest with the experience your materials provide.
It's not just a malady afflicting “official” designers.
It can sneak into any and all content on display for your customers.
Remember this example of really poor design from the U.S. military? Following the leak/whistle-blowing of the PRISM surveillance program, the poorly-designed PowerPoint which explained the program quickly made the rounds. Instead of just criticizing the design, some designers took the initiative and redesigned the key slides to make them clear, concise and attractive.

What if true innovation and game change could come by focusing on fringe groups? For instance, if we look at the concepts being created around the disabled and the elderly, can we add greater value to the overall conversation within digital?

The first impression of a company is often delivered by it's logo. The image emodying an organization has to be perfect, it's difficult to master the perfect logo, but it's well worth the time.
Logos can be made interesting. For example, the BMW logo shows a propeller of a plane in motion against the blue sky. This is because BMW used to build engines for German planes. The color scheme of logo is also derived from the flag of the state of "Bavaria" in Germany, where BMW is headquartered.
Color is very important to brand recognition. Scientists and researchers believe certain colors make us feel a certain way about something like this infographic by The Logo Company suggests.
Red : Excitement, Youthful and Bold.
Green : Peaceful, Growth and Health. ( even eco-friendly)
Blue : Trust, Dependable and Strength.
Orange : Friendly, cheerful and confidence.
Black and White : Balanced, Netural and calm.
Companies like Microsoft, Ebay and Google have diverse logo color schemes. They are found to have a blended mixture of all above qualities. (Not that others are not, but that's just an observation).
Make smart decisions while choosing your company's logo color scheme. You should have interesting story to tell when your brand grows big and people... Read more

Holidays and other special occasions provide brands with a license to put aside their typical constraints and innovate—great news for brand marketers. It’s also an opportunity to drive incredible sales performance. Here are 10 tips for designing holiday and limited edition packaging.